The shantytowns of Central Park West: fin de siècle squatting in American cities.

This article argues that the scope and importance of squatting has been greatly understated in discussions of nineteenth-century urban development. Period newspapers reported often on the struggle of cities and titleholders across North America to evict squatters, indicating that squatters were a common and persistent component of the city landscape. Evidence also suggests that many, if not most, squatters believed that they would eventually win clear title to their homes.